According to The News, Justice Qazi Faez Isa is likely to challenge
the presidential reference against him. The presidential reference, a copy of which was shared
with Justice Isa in June, accused him of hiding his property overseas
under his children and spouse’s names. Justice Isa, in his reply
to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on June 28th, asserted
that did not receive any notice regarding the alleged violation of the
Section 116(1)(b) of Income Tax Ordinance 2001. He added that his
children are not minors and neither his children
nor his wife are his dependents. He also reiterated that Section
116(1)(b) is not penal provision.
The
reference against Justice Isa and his subsequent reply to the SJC is
understood
better in the context of events preceding the filing of reference. In
February this year, Justice Isa penned the Faizabad dharna judgment
in which he indicted the military establishment of Pakistan in failing
to put to rest the perception of its involvement in affairs beyond its
mandate such as politicking and manipulation of media. Understandably,
this judgment irked the military establishment,
which has a history
of using the legal fraternity to achieve its domestic political
ambitions, Interestingly, Punjab Bar Council carried a resolution in
April demanding
the removal of Justice Isa on the basis that in its view Justice Isa
ridiculed the armed forces in the Faizabad dharna judgment passed in
February 2019. Because of Pakistani military’s history of manipulating
the legal fraternity to achieve its objectives,
it is plausible that the resolution put forth by the Punjab Bar Council
was another addition to a long list of such manipulations. However, the
Pakistan Bar Council, regulatory body of the affairs of the legal
fraternity, rejected
Punjab Bar Council’s request for immediate removal of Justice Isa and
described the Punjab Bar Council’s resolution as “uncalled for,
unnecessary that transgresses the independence of judiciary.”
The
Punjab Bar Council’s failed resolution did not end Justice Isa’s
trials, however. In late May this year, even before the reference
was shared with Justice Isa, rumors
started circulating about presidential reference against him. Justice Isa termed these rumors as “selective
leaks” aimed
at character assassination in a letter to the President seeking
clarification regarding the rumored reference. After the media leaks,
Additional Attorney General Zahid F. Ebrahim resigned
in protest alleging that the filing of reference “is not about
accountability of judges but is a reckless attempt to tar the reputation
of independent individuals and could cause irreparable damage to the
institution which is the protector of our fundamental
rights and the bedrock of our fledgling democracy.” According to Dawn,
legal observers believe that the current campaign against Justice Isa is
a result of his strongly worded judgment in the Faizabad dharna case in
which he directed the defence ministry and the chiefs of the army to
take actions against personnel who violated
their oath.
As the situation now stands, Justice Isa is likely to challenge the presidential reference against him in the Supreme Court by invoking article 184(3). According to The News, former attorney general for Pakistan Munir A. Malik has returned from California to plead the case of Justice Isa. Senior lawyers including Hamid Khan, Kamran Murtaza, Ali Ahmed Kurd, and Rashid A. Rizvi may be included in Justice Isa’s panel. The upcoming months will write the end of this saga involving Justice Isa, the legal fraternity, the government, and the Pakistani military. It remains to be seen how controversial, chaotic, and undermining that end will be for the integrity of judiciary in Pakistan.
